


The Sin Bin - Revisited

by CuddlerOfDragons



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Gen, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Police corruption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-06-26 10:00:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15660942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuddlerOfDragons/pseuds/CuddlerOfDragons
Summary: So, I was watching 'The Sinnerman' and 'The Sin Bin' (purely for writing research) and I realized that we never did find out exactly WHY The 'bogus' Sinnerman was so keen for Lucifer to kill him or how it would have benefited Pierce.  In fact, there are many unanswered questions:  What would have happened between Chloe, Pierce and The 'bogus' Sinnerman, if Maze hadn't let Lucifer out of the 'TV' room?  What would have happened if Lucifer HAD killed the human?  What was Pierce up to?Since none of the writers for the show are available for interrogation, I thought it might be fun to make up a bunch of stuff and take 'The Sin Bin' in a completely new direction.I hope you enjoy.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Prologue

Rhythmic bleeping - where _was_ he?

Hazy white with swirling dark shapes - why couldn’t he focus?

One of the dark shapes resolved itself.  Detective Douche.

“Lucifer?”  He sounded concerned.

Memories came crashing into his head with all the speed and inevitability of his Fall but this time there was no blissful lake of fire to ease his landing.

“I’m sorry, Daniel.”  He croaked.

“Sorry?”

“I couldn’t save her…”  He could feel the heat of unshed tears behind his eyes.

“Huh?  _Who_ couldn’t you save?”

How could the Douche not _know_?  The whiteness was starting to swirl again and he struggled to get the words out…

“The Detective… Chloe…”

The white spiraled away to blackness.

***

Flashback

Pierce

All the officers at the scene were loyal to _him_ \- except Decker, of course - they had their orders and would carry them out to the letter.  No questions, no deviation from his detailed instructions, no room for error.

All _he_ had to do was keep Decker distracted.  No problem there, she was angry but hiding it well; she was worried about the possible effect on her career, it was easy for him to take her to a side room, away from the action.  A reassuring talk about who was to blame for the situation and who wasn’t, that’s what _she_ needed.

By the time he led her back out front, the decoy Sinnerman was being loaded into the coroner’s wagon and the _other_ problem had been dealt with.

***

Driver

The Boss-man’s plan was going well; the subject had been acquired and Decoy#1 was dead.  The only snag had been that it had taken _three_ of them to get the subject into the van.  Dead weight, he was _always_ going to be awkward but the height of him made an _extra_ officer necessary.  The man sniggered as he drove away, no one _ever_ questioned the uniform, it was almost like being invisible. 

He ran over the Boss-man’s instructions, in his head, making sure he hadn’t missed anything:

  1) _Knock out the subject._

 _That_ had been easy enough; he’d been sitting down, his head in his hands, probably never even _felt_ the gun butt striking the sweet spot on the back of his skull. 

  2) _Cannulate and sedate subject immediately._

He wasn’t sure why _immediately_ \- the man would probably be out for a while - but he had to admit it had given him a satisfying feeling to rip open the sleeve of that over-priced shirt and twist it tight around the bicep until the vein had popped up in the crook of the left elbow.  The rest of the procedure had been textbook.

  3) _Leaving no signs of a struggle, remove subject from house and drive to pre-arranged destination._

That had, of course, taken three of them but no detail had been missed.  Now that they were in the van, heading out, the rest was going to be easy…

***

Chloe Decker was seething with rage.  She’d managed to hide it from Pierce but there was no way she was planning on hiding it from Lucifer.

‘ _He wants to see you, he’s out on the balcony.’_

The _nerve_ of him, wanting to see her after the monumental backstabbing he’d just performed.  She was going to make him wait until everyone else had gone and _then_ he was _so_ going to get a piece of her mind.  She was _incredibly_ grateful to Pierce for smoothing everything over _and_ for not blaming _her_.  She could have lost her _career_ over this.

She looked out at the view, no Lucifer.  Was there _another_ balcony?  When she had checked every room and found them _all_ to be Lucifer free, a niggling worry started.

Where _was_ he?

His car was still parked outside, he wouldn’t have _left_ it here; gotten a ride with someone else, what would be the _point_?  Alone and frantic now, she started searching the grounds _under_ the balcony, in case he’d somehow gone _over_ \- not something that could happen by accident, given the height of the reinforced glass barrier - could someone have _pushed_ him? 

He wasn’t out there.  She was relieved, of course but he could still be in trouble, _somewhere_.

***

Maze wasn’t answering her phone, so Chloe made her way to Lux.  He wasn’t there, of course but Amenadiel was and _he_ hadn’t seen Lucifer, either.  Where _was_ he?  He wouldn’t have just _left_ … he wouldn’t _do_ that… except for the one time that he _had_.

No, she couldn’t think like that.  The _last_ time he went missing, he’d been kidnapped - she didn’t count the time he went to Vegas, on her birthday - what if he was in _real_ trouble?  Quick calls to Linda and the ex-Mrs Morningstar, confirmed that he hadn’t gone to either of _them_ and then Chloe realized that she didn’t know enough about him to even _begin_ to look.

***

Lucifer was _officially_ missing, now but Chloe’s life had to carry on.  She still had to work.  Pierce had suggested assigning her a new partner but that felt too much like giving up on Lucifer.  Disloyal.  So, she worked with Dan and sometimes Pierce, occasionally both of them.

In her own time, she looked for Lucifer.  She already had - _and_ had checked out - Dan’s ‘stalker’ list of properties but a more thorough search had turned up many more, all over the planet.   She had contacted as many of their local law enforcement departments as she could and had, so far, got nothing.

She had even looked more closely at The Sinnerman, since _his_ death had been the start of it.  Something about the whole thing didn’t _feel_ right.  Pierce’s assertion that there was _no_ accomplice, when there was supposed to be a network of criminals working for this man.  The notion that the figurehead of a national crime empire would get his _own_ hands dirty…  It all felt too… open and shut.

How did Lucifer get out of that house full of police officers, without anyone _noticing_?  Admittedly, he hadn’t been under arrest, he’d been _free_ to leave but surely, if he _had_ , someone would have _seen_ something.  All the officers she tracked down and asked, either saw nothing or saw him sitting out on the balcony but didn’t see him leave.  The statements were all a bit ‘samey’.  She didn’t like that.

***

Dan was getting ready for work when the text arrived.

 **‘might have a lead on** (devil emoji) **meet me.  Ella’**

There was a second text with an address.

‘ _Rough district.’_ Dan thought, wondering if he should text Chloe.  He weighed up her having the right to know against her dashed hopes if it didn’t pan out.  He sent the text.

Ella’s car was already there but she hadn’t got out.

“Thank you for coming, I didn’t want to go in alone.”  She told him as she shut the car door.

“No problem,” He looked at the derelict building, doubtfully.  “Why _here_?”

“I.. er.. had an anonymous tip.”  She said, looking shifty.

The gate in the fencing was padlocked but Ella had it open very quickly and they made their way inside.  It was dark and Dan drew his gun while Ella took out a flashlight.  They checked the rooms, systematically, each of them standing open and empty, except one.  Ella opened the heavy, thick door of the last room.

Light spilled out of it.  Chains hung from the ceiling and, bizarrely, there was an old style TV in one corner but what dominated the room was the horribly out of place hospital bed that Lucifer was strapped to.

He was wearing the same clothes he’d had on the day he’d last been seen - minus the jacket and with his shirt sleeve ripped.  A thin clear tube ran from his left arm and split into two, one tube feeding down from an I.V. stand with a bag of clear liquid and the other from a drug delivery pump.  He was motionless.

“He’s got a pulse,” Ella said, putting two fingers to his neck.  “Look at his eyes.”  Now that they were closer, they could see that his eyes were skittering behind his eyelids.  “He’s dreaming.”

Dan took out his phone.  No signal.  He walked back to the doorway and called for an ambulance.

“Should we take the tubes out?”  He asked Ella, when he came back.

“I don’t know, it could be dangerous, if he’s been on this stuff the whole time… the shock might be fatal.  If only we knew what they’ve been putting into him.”  She panned the light around the room showing a heap of empty, discarded I.V. bags and some unlabeled bottles.

“I’m getting the straps off, at least.”  Dan said, freeing Lucifer’s ankles as he spoke. 

He’d just undone the right wrist, when Lucifer started shivering.  Ella reached out and touched his neck again.

“His temperature’s dropping and his pulse rate is climbing.”  She said.

Dan took off his jacket and wrapped it around Lucifer, just as he started to convulse.

“Hello…”  Chloe’s voice echoed around the building, “Are you guys _in_ here?”

Lucifer started screaming.

***

He’d quietened down, much to Chloe’s relief.  Dan and Ella had left the two of them alone, on the pretext of going to see what was keeping the ambulance.

“The medics are on their way, Lucifer, you’re safe now.”  She said, holding his right hand and willing him to open his eyes again.

“D’tective?”  He looked up at her and squeezed her hand, she smiled at him…

There was a sound, a sort of wet _thunk_ and Chloe’s eyes flew open wide.  For an instant she gazed at him with pure panic before her head sank down on his chest and he looked on in helpless horror as the light faded from her eyes.

He strained to raise his head and, as her body slid to the floor, wrenching her fingers from his hand, he caught a glimpse of the handle of the knife that was sticking out of her back…

***

 

 


	2. Wrongful Arrest?

 

The next time he opened his eyes, he felt better; almost _normal_ , if he didn’t count the invisible weight crushing his heart.  _Maze_ was sitting by his bed, _this_ time.

“Forgive me, my Lord.”  She said, going ‘Hell’ formal on him for the first time in years.  “I thought that you’d been banished back to Hell for killing the human.  Decker’s been frantic, she _told_ me that someone _else_ killed him but I thought that that was a police cover up.  You had _gone_ , you left your _car_ , no one saw you leave; what else was I to think?”

“How long?”  He asked, coldly.

“Three days.  You’ve woken, briefly, before but you seem fully recovered, this time.”

“Only three days…”

“Three days in _here_ ,”  She glanced around the hospital room.  “We‘ve been taking turns watching over you.”

“And _before_ here?  How long was I _gone_ , Mazikeen?”

“Five weeks.”  The demon said, too ashamed to meet his eyes.

“I think I’d like to be alone.”  He didn’t want to shed tears in front of her but the pain of his loss was going to spill out of him.

“Of course.  I need to call Decker, anyhow, I promised I’d let her know when you woke up.”

His hand around her throat was so unexpected that she didn’t know whether to feel threatened or aroused.

“Don’t _pretend_ around me.  I know she’s _gone_.”  He growled.

“Well, yeah,”  Maze managed to get out, despite the pressure on her vocal chords,  “She still has to _work_ , especially _now_.  They’ve arrested Ellen.”

“The Detective’s _not_ dead?”  He released her.

“ _No_ , why would you think that she..?  Oh, the _drugs_.”  She gestured at the I.V. stand by his bed.  “Whoever took you, were pumping you full of sedatives and hallucinogens; the doctors have been purging your bloodstream since you got here.”

“ _Who_ took me, you mentioned an ‘Ellen’.”

“I don’t think it _was_ her, not that she’s not _capable_ but I can’t imagine why she _would._   Or have you offended her in some way?”

“Hold on, do you mean Ms _Lopez_?  Why in the world _would_ she..?”

“She _found_ you.  She said she got an anonymous tip but no one believes her, so they think she _did_ it.”

“I need to get out of here.”  He said, calmly pulling the cannula out of his arm.  The tiny hole closed almost instantly, proving that Chloe was nowhere near the hospital.  “Tell me you brought fresh clothes.”

“Of course I did and you might want to use the grooming kit, as well.”  She handed him the garment bag and overnight case that she’d stashed under his bed and pointed him in the direction of the bathroom.

His cry of horror when he saw the mess his hair was in and the _actual_ beard that he’d grown, made the pain she felt when she swallowed even sweeter than it already was.

***

Lucifer strolled up to Chloe’s desk as though it was a normal day.

“Detective,”  He said, loving her shocked expression _and_ the fact that she wasn’t dead,  “What’s this I hear about Ms Lopez?”

“They discharged you?”  Chloe squeaked, getting up and pulling him to her for a desperate hug.

“Dear me, PDAs at _work_ , Detective?  _Focus_ , Ms Lopez’s wrongful arrest.”  He looked so like his usual self, that she almost wanted to hit him for the weeks of worry she had lived through.

“Alright, what do you remember about your abduction?”  Chloe asked.

“Nothing, I’m afraid.”  He said, calmly.  The image of his Detective dying on top of him with a knife in her back, making him flinch.

“Literally _nothing_?  You remember taking The Sinnerman?”  There was no way she was going to be mad at him for that, _now_.

“Can we do this somewhere more private?”  He asked her, as he remembered what _Pierce_ had done.

“Interview room?”  She suggested.

“Away from here entirely?”

“Well, it _is_ nearly lunch time.”  Chloe said, looking at her watch.

***

“So you were never in any danger, at _all_?”  Chloe asked, wide eyed.

“Not from the so called _Sinnerman_ , no.  _I_ was holding a knife on _him_ and he was just about to talk, I think.  _Pierce_ certainly thought so.”

“So, you’re saying that _Pierce_ shot him dead, in _cold blood_?”

“Either that, or he’s a _really_ bad shot, seeing as how _I_ was armed and _he_ shot the hostage.”

“So, how did you get out of the house without anyone seeing?  And how did you get kidnapped?”  Chloe asked, picking at her food.  They were in a private dining area of a small restaurant whose owner, predictably, owed Lucifer a favour.

“You don’t get it, _do_ you?  I was taken from _inside_ the house.”

“You _can’t_ have been, the place was crawling with uniforms, someone would have _seen_ something.”

He raised his eyebrow at her.

“No, Lucifer, it’s not possible, not that _many_ …”

“I have, what you _humans_ like to call, a photographic memory.  I am _cursed_ to remember every waking moment I have ever had, in my _entire_ existence.  Believe me when I tell you, that I was sitting on the sofa, out on the balcony - with uniformed officers wandering around - when I was struck on the head, from behind.”

***

 


	3. Orange is the New Ella

 

 

“Charlotte?”  Ella said, looking up as the woman came into the interview room.  “I thought my lawyer was coming, are _you_ prosecuting me?”

“Certainly not, that would be wrong.  I’ve taken a leave of absence from the D.A.’s office, so that I can _defend_ you.”

“I thought you didn’t do that anymore.”

“I do when I know that my client is innocent.”

“That happen often?”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”  She sat down and took out a pile of paperwork.  “Now, you are charged with… Kidnapping, torturing and the attempted murder of, Lucifer Morningstar.  Boy, when you cut loose you really go all out.”

“Is Lucifer okay?  I would _never_ hurt him.”

“I know _that_ , I was joking, before.  I guess I probably shouldn’t.  And yes, Lucifer seems to be okay, he got out of the hospital yesterday.  I saw him at the precinct, not to _talk_ to but he looked the same as always.  Now, the evidence against you, _is_ pretty damning and we need to address each part.”  She pulled out Dan’s statement.

“So, does Daniel Espinoza have any reason to _dislike_ you?”

“Not that I know of, why, what did he say?”  Ella was starting to worry, now.

“He says that you sent him a text asking to meet him at the location where Lucifer was being held.”

“That’s true.  I had an anonymous tip but I didn’t want to go there alone and I didn’t want to report it officially in case it wasn’t…”

“In case it was a hoax?”

“Yeah.”  Considering her source, Ella didn’t want to use the word ‘hoax’.

“And he says that you unlocked the padlock that was chaining the gate closed.”

“Yeah.  It was an _easy_ one… I have lock picks… is that… bad?”

“No, no, so long as you didn’t have a _key_.”

“Nah, why would I?”

“Then he says that the two of you checked every room and in the only _shut_ room you found Lucifer.  He was strapped to a bed and being pumped full of drugs.  That’s accurate?”

“Yes.”

“And Lucifer was _stable_?”

“Yes.” 

“And then Dan couldn’t get a signal on his phone so he went back to the entrance to call the ambulance?”

“Yes.”

“Leaving you alone with Lucifer.”

“I guess.”

“What did you do while Dan was gone?”

“I.. er.. photographed the scene.  There was only one light bulb in there and you couldn’t see the rest of the room so well but with the flash on my phone, I was able to get good shots of the medical equipment.  I.V. bags, drug bottles, that kind of thing.”

“And you didn’t touch anything?”

“No way, I do this for a living.  I’d already gloved up before I even checked Lucifer’s pulse.”

“You didn’t touch his I.V. line?  Or the drug pump?”

“No, like I said, he was stable, I figured that the medics should take care of that.”

“You told Dan the same thing?”

“Yes.”

“That’s what he says here.  He also says that while he was undoing Lucifer’s straps, he _stopped_ being stable.”

“Yeah, he was convulsing and screaming, tore the I.V. line right out of him.  Frightened poor Chloe half to death.”

“So that’s when Chloe Decker showed up.”

“Yeah, it was really traumatic, for her, seeing him like that.”

“Yes.  I’m aware that they’re… close?”

“Oh yeah, the sexual tension between those two?  Whew, when they finally… er.. get a room… _meltdown_.”

“Yes, well.  Try not to say anything like that, in court.”

“Will they ask me about that?”

“It seems unlikely.  Now, how do you explain the cufflink?”

“Cufflink?”

“You are aware that Lucifer wears cufflinks?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you notice them when you found him?”

“Er… no, not really a priority.”

“All the clothes he was wearing, when he was found, were taken from the hospital as evidence.  There was only one cufflink on his shirt.”

“Because the left sleeve was ripped?  I’m guessing when they put in the cannula.”

“That’s right.  So, can you explain how the _matching_ cufflink came to be in _your_ jewellery box, in _your_ bedroom?”

“That’s not possible.  Someone must have put it there.”

“The prosecution agree.  They think that _you_ put it there.  They think that _you_ , somehow, _kidnapped_ Lucifer, kept him in a derelict building, drugged out of his skull, for five weeks.  Then you pretend to find him, using Dan as a witness and, this is the _important_ part, they think that you increased the dosage on the drug pump, while Dan was outside.”

“Wha..?”

“ _That_ part is important, it’s why you’re looking at attempted murder because the medics say that if his dosage had been set _that_ high, the whole time, he would have been dead five weeks ago.”

“I’m screwed, aren’t I.”  The normally buoyant Ella put her head in her hands, a picture of despair.

“It certainly _looks_ that way.  So, tell me _who_ told you where he was?  And don’t give me this ‘anonymous’ crap, someone has got it in for you, _badly_.  Give me a _name_.”

“I can’t, you’d think I was crazy.”

“Crazy could be the _best_ thing, crazy could keep you out of prison.  Lucifer and Chloe are investigating this, neither of _them_ believe you did it and you already know that _I_ don’t but we need a place to start, we need the name.”

“The name won’t help.  She can’t testify…”

“Why on earth _not_?  She could keep you out of prison…”

“Because she’s _dead_.  She’s a ghost.”

***

 


	4. Misunderstandings

 

It’s early and Lucifer is breakfasting alone.  His hair still damp and curly from the shower, his silk robe sensual against his skin as he sips his coffee.

He looks up at the ding as his elevator opens and Lt. Pierce steps out.

“To what do I owe _this_ dubious plea..?”

“Shut up.”  Pierce snarls.

Lucifer’s mouth snaps shut.

“I don’t want to hear another sound out of you, understand?”  Pierce is all aggression and hate.

Lucifer nods, mutely.

“Lose the robe.”

It hits the penthouse floor, with a soft whisper and lies there, an expensive puddle.  Pierce roughly cuffs Lucifer’s hands behind his back and pushes him to the bedroom.

“I want you totally relaxed, limp, passive and unresponsive.”  Pierce growls, pushing Lucifer face down across the bed.  “Do not move a muscle, do not make a sound.”

Lucifer relaxes into the sheets.  He can hear Pierce dropping his pants.

The sex is hard and violent.  Lucifer stays relaxed and utterly passive, throughout.  When it’s over Pierce puts his pants back on and unlocks the cuffs.

“Stay exactly like that for the next thirty minutes.”  He says, turning to leave.  “I’ll _know_ if you don’t.”

Then he’s gone.

Half an hour later, Lucifer gets off the bed and goes for another shower.

***

“She’s not making this easy.”  Charlotte said, stirring her coffee.

“She’s sticking to her ‘ghost’ story?”  Chloe asked.

“Yes and she won’t plead insanity because then she’d lose her job, in the _unlikely_ event she‘s found innocent.”  Charlotte confirmed.

“She _is_ innocent, though.  Shouldn’t _that_ count for something?”  Lucifer said, slipping a fifty into the waiter’s hand and murmuring something about privacy.

“It _should_ but it doesn’t.”  Charlotte said,  “What _will_ help, a little, is _your_ belief that she had nothing to do with it and, of course, the fact that she was nowhere near the place you were abducted from, at the time you were being abducted.”

“I can’t believe _I_ was.  Why didn’t I _see_ anything?”  Chloe said.

“Talk me through it.”

“Pierce and I got there first, he sent me upstairs, I heard the shots, ran back down and The Sinnerman was dead, killed by Pierce.  Then the uniforms arrived and Pierce took me to one of the side rooms.  He told me that he had saved Lucifer’s life and talked about my career choices.  He said he would smooth it all over by saying that Lucifer had been the hostage, all along…”

“How long did this ‘talk’ take, exactly?”  Charlotte asked.

“I’m not sure, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry, he wanted me to understand that he was going out on a limb and talked a lot about trust…”

“He was stalling.”

“I suppose he could have been…”

“No, he was.  We do this kind of thing in court; spin out the talking, play for time…”

“That would mean that you were right,”  Chloe said to Lucifer,  “ _All_ the uniforms were in on it and Pierce was making it easy for them by keeping me out of the way.”

“Oh I think it was a bit more than that, what do you think would have happened if you’d seen Lucifer being carried out of the house, unconscious?”

“I’d have… _oh_.”

“Yes.  I think that you would have ended up as another death that had to be smoothed over, probably blamed on this ‘Sinnerman’, whoever _he_ was.”

“That’s something else in Ms Lopez’s favour, the prosecution are trying to say that what she allegedly did was personal, keeping my cufflink as a souvenir but she _couldn’t_ have been working alone.  All those officers turning a blind eye.  It’s too organized.  I was taken to the _same_ derelict building as when The Sinnerman had me trapped…”

“What?  You never _said_ , we would have had a team out there all those weeks ago…”

“I didn’t get a chance, remember?  We were all focused on the so called Sinnerman and _then_ I was taken back to the damned place.”

“You’re sure it was the same, did you regain consciousness there at all?”  Charlotte asked.

“No but I’ve seen the crime scene photographs.  It was the same place.  There wasn’t a bed in it, the first time.  They must have brought _that_ in especially.”

“What were they trying to _achieve_?  They obviously don’t want you _dead_..”  Chloe said, sounding close to tears and remembering how he had looked, thrashing and screaming but still not really conscious.

“I can’t imagine but I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to Ms Lopez’s ghost friend.”

“Yes, we need to get back to helping Ella.”  Chloe said, getting herself under control.   “Who benefits if she’s discredited?”

“Well, from a _legal_ standpoint, if she’s found guilty, it will cast doubt on _any_ conviction that her forensic testimony has helped to secure.  A _lot_ of bad people could get released.”

“We can’t have _that_ , we’re going to have to find proof that our Lt. Pierce is part of the Sinnerman’s organization, probably higher up the ladder than the poor sap he shot.”

“It doesn’t _fit_ , though, he said that the Sinnerman killed his brother.  He was _emotional_ about it.  I know acting, that wasn’t it.”

“I suppose it’s possible that his brother was killed as a warning and his remaining family members are _still_ in the firing line.  He seemed to be genuinely concerned about your spawn when we _first_ spoke about it.”

“So he might have kept me from being involved, at the house, to _protect_ me.”  Chloe said, thoughtfully.

It was _that_ thought that led to Chloe approaching Pierce with what she _thought_ she knew…

***


	5. Tripping

 

Lucifer was in trouble.  He was experiencing visual disturbances.  Sparkles in the air, sometimes, when the motes of dust caught the sunlight; shifting colours and increased brightness.  It seemed to be linked to the amount of time he spent with Chloe.

It was getting worse.

As they were leaving their meeting with Charlotte, he had glanced down and it had looked as if he’d been wading in the floor - carpet up to his knees - he had ignored it, pretended it wasn’t real ( _it’s **not** real_ ) it must be his brain chemistry flashing back to the hallucinogens.

“I have to go.”  He had told Chloe,  “Come by the penthouse later.”

He had had to walk around the block ( _wading through sidewalk_ ) until she was far enough away so that he could drive.  Maybe he shouldn’t have walked out of the hospital.  Maybe he should have listened to what the doctors had to say.

Despite his fondness for drugs, hallucinogens weren’t really his thing.  He’d tried both LSD and mushrooms at Woodstock and had discovered that for an Angel - even a fallen one - taking that kind of drug was largely redundant.  _His_ perception of the world was already vastly different from the _human_ experience of it.

Hours later, he looked out over Lux, the people were a chaotic sea of pulsating colours, undulating in time to the music and making his head reel.  He retreated to the penthouse.

***

His elevator dinged - he really _must_ get some security on it - and two _swirls_ walked in.  He stared at them, his brain trying to make some sense out of what he was seeing.  The one in front was bright and sparkly albeit tinged with some negative emotion; the one behind was _vile_.

Vile, like rot and decay and disease and stink so bad that suffocation became a more viable option than breathing it.  Lucifer blinked rapidly and began to see faces…

“Detective, you might want to come over here.”  He said, calmly.

“Yes, Decker, you do that.”  Lt. Pierce said, giving her a shove with the hand that _wasn’t_ holding the knife.  “Keep hold of her.”  He ordered Lucifer, when Chloe had reached him.  He emphasised the words by waving the knife, which looked a lot like one of Maze’s but was larger.

“Where _did_ you find that?”  Lucifer asked, at the same time as he put his arm protectively around Chloe.  He glanced down at her, as she squirmed in his grasp, trying to put herself between him and Pierce and he almost lost himself in the play of light and static electricity in her hair.

“I lifted it the _first_ time I was in here.  I’m surprised you didn’t miss it.”

Lucifer’s face snapped back up, as he remembered that he shouldn’t take his eyes off the _thing_ that was standing in his home.  The knife flew towards him and he caught it, easily.

“Now, you’re going to use it on _her_.”  Pierce said, confidently.

“Why _would_ I?”  Lucifer was starting to think that, _maybe_ , none of this was real.

“Because I _own_ you and I’m giving you an _order_.”  Pierce growled, then looked down, in shock, at the handle of the same knife, that was _now_ sticking out of his chest.  He fell to the floor with a groan.

“Nobody owns me.”  Lucifer muttered, looking down at the creature on the floor.  “Do you still have your handcuffs, Detective?”

“What for?”  She asked, passing them to him. 

“To secure the prisoner, of course.”  He bent over Pierce, pulled the knife from his chest, turned him over and cuffed his hands behind his back.  Then he stepped back to stand next Chloe again.

“He doesn’t need _securing_ , he’s _dead_.  You just _killed_ him, like it was _nothing_.”

“Yes.  Give it a few moments and we’ll be able to question him.”  He was focused on Pierce.

Chloe reached up and took Lucifer by the chin.  She turned his face to her.

“Are you _high_?”  She asked and then,  “Oooh.”  As she met his gaze, properly.  His pupils were expanding and contracting against a background of red Hellfire.

“ _High_ isn’t really the right term.  I don’t know _what_ to call _this_.  I don‘t suppose I could have one of your excellent slaps?”

She slapped him across the face.

“No, really put your back into it.”

This time she gave it all she had.

“That’s better,”  He purred, the light show in his eyes undiminished.

Pierce coughed.  Lucifer strode back to him and pulled him up off the floor by his hair.

“Talk to me, Cain.”  He said.

“Why didn’t you _kill_ her?  She’s your _kryptonite_ you’d be better off without her _and_ I _told_ you to.”

“Cain?  Like from the Bible?  He‘s still alive?”  Chloe sat down, with a thump, on the well placed sofa.

“Yes, do keep up, Detective.”  He looked back at Cain.  “Why did you think _I_ was following _your_ orders?”

“The drugs and the subliminal conditioning.  You passed my _test_ , this morning.”

“Is _that_ what that was?”

“ _No_ one could stay relaxed through _that_ kind of punishment, unless they were unconscious or couldn’t help but do as they were _told_.”  He spat blood.  “Your muscles didn’t even _twitch_.”

“I’m considered to be fairly good at submission.”  Lucifer said, with a shrug.  “I find it relaxing.  Subbing Sunday used to be a _thing_ , day of rest and all that; not normally quite that _extreme_ , though.  Having it Monday morning threw me a _little_ bit…”  He looked disapprovingly at the blood on his floor.  “Do you want to tell me what you were up to?  Kidnapping me, trying to make me your bitch?”

“Go ahead, do your thing.”

“What?”

“Ask me.”

“Oh, very well.  What is it that you desire?”

“I want to die.”

“Well, if a Hell-forged blade won’t do it, _you_ are out of luck.”

“I thought maybe Decker’s influence would help but… she’s useless.  Then I thought you should kill her and _we_ could team up.  We would be unstoppable.”

“Why would you _want_ to go to Hell, anyway?  Earth‘s much nicer.”  Lucifer said, ignoring both the slur on his Detective _and_ the unthinkable offer.

“I’m not _going_ to Hell, I’m going to Heaven.”

Lucifer laughed, hard.  His wings unexpectedly emerging, which made him laugh harder.

“You are so _toxic_ and you actually _believe_ you belong in Heaven.  It would almost be worth seeing my Father’s reaction…”

He grasped Cain, tightly, there was a whoosh of air and they were gone.

Chloe sat, motionless on the sofa, staring at the space where they had been.  She stared for a long time.

Someone clicked their fingers in front of her eyes.

“Decker, you okay?”

Chloe refocused her eyes onto Maze.

“There’s blood all over the floor.”  Linda said, from far away.  “Where’s Lucifer?”

“He went.”  Chloe said, quietly.

“The hospital called, they said that he walked out.  Maze helped him.”  Linda said, disapprovingly.

“How was _I_ to know it was wrong?  It was a hospital, not a _prison_.”

“Whose blood is this?”

“Lt. Pierce.  He _died_ and then he was _alive_ and Lucifer called him _Cain_.  He took him and left.”

“What else did you see?”  Linda asked, gently, recognizing the symptoms.

“Wings, big bright wings.  The drugs did something to him… his eyes…”

“You sound stoned, Decker.”  Maze said, with a laugh.

“Yes, a drink would be a good idea.”  Linda said, as Maze handed Chloe a glass of something.  She threw it back in one gulp.

“How long ago did he leave?”  Maze asked, looking at the bloodstained knife.

“Is it still Monday?”

“Yeah.”

“Before you came, sometime.  I thought _Pierce_ was working undercover…  _Now_ , I think he’s The Sinnerman.”

“If he’s really _Cain_ , then yeah.”  Maze confirmed.

“I’ve lost my phone.  I need to call Charlotte and tell her.”

“I’ll do it, I have her number.”  Linda said, taking out her phone.

“I don’t know who we can _trust_ at the precinct.”

“Right now, _I_ can spot the bad ones just by _looking_ at them.”  Lucifer said, coming in off the balcony and putting his wings away.

He staggered a bit when Chloe threw her arms around him, then he picked her up, his hands around her waist and kissed her.  She wrapped her legs around him and kissed back.

“I should get pumped full of drugs more often.  This is _so_ much fun.”  He said, when they broke for air.

“What did you do with Cain?”  Maze asked.

“Stashed him.”  He said smirking.

“Where?”

“V404 Cygni.  Now leave me alone, I’m kissing my Detective.”

“Lucifer, you’re suffering from HPPD.  The hospital sent me a list of the substances that they found in your bloodstream…”  Linda said, urgently.

“Trust me, I am _not_ suffering.  This is _wonderful_.”

“Chloe’s going to have to leave so _you_ can get better.”  Linda said.

“But I want her here with _me_.”  Lucifer pouted.  “I’m not greedy, I just want to kiss her and maybe play with her hair all night.  Look what it _does_ …”  He carded his fingers through it to demonstrate.  The effect was lost on the others.

“Lucifer, Chloe is _not_ a cuddly toy.  Furthermore she is making your condition _worse_.”

This got through to Chloe, who reluctantly climbed down.  She turned around to face Linda, Lucifer wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“What’s this HPD thing that he’s got?”

“HPPD, it stands for Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder…”

“It means his brain’s fubar, Decker and he won’t shake it off until he’s been away from you for…”  Maze looked at Linda.

“At least a few days, I think…”

“I feel so _strong_ , I’m gonna go kick down the gates and tell my Dad _exactly_ what I think of him.”  Lucifer said, suddenly.

“ _No_.  That would be like… drunk dialing.  I’ll sit on your wings if I have to.”  Linda said, horrified.

“Yeah, I’ll help.”  Maze agreed.

Something got Lucifer’s attention.  He let go of Chloe and looked at Maze, fascinated.

“Oh Mazy, why didn’t you tell me?”  He was looking at her chest.  “Or don’t you know?”

“What, now?”

“I can _see_ it, so small but it’ll grow and then, oh Maze, you’ll be the _first_.  _Ever_.”  He hugged her, his face wet with tears.  She struggled out of his grasp.

“C’mon Decker,” She said, “Lets go prove Ellen’s innocent.”

“What was _that_ about?”  Linda asked, when they had left and Lucifer was being a bit more rational.

“Maze is growing a soul,  I saw it, tiny thing.”  Lucifer said, quietly.  “We must help her with it, she’s going to lose her focus for a while.  There’ll be temper tantrums.”

“How is that possible?  What caused it?”

“Love, what else?”

***

Ella took a deep breath of sea air and savoured her freedom.

“I’m _so_ sorry that I did that to you.”  Her friend said, quietly,  “I didn’t think that _you’d_ be in trouble.”

“Lucifer’s my _friend_ , Ray-ray; what’s a few days locked up compared to _that_?”

“Your friends _know_ about me, now.”

“They were… not how I _thought_ they would be.  I thought they’d laugh or call me crazy or treat me different…”

“See, I _told_ you you’d like L.A.”

 


	6. Talking It Through

 

 

“So, how are you feeling, now?”  Linda asked him.  He had been interacting with Chloe for around a week and, so far, his HPPD hadn’t recurred.

“Good.  I feel I should thank you.”

“For..?”

“Staying with me while I was in that state, making sure I didn’t storm Heaven.  Getting The Detective to leave.”

“Not a popular choice at the time.”

“No.  While I feel that sex, in that condition, would have been _scintillating_ , on the whole, I’m glad that we didn’t.  Not for our _first_ time together.”

“How _has_ it affected your relationship?”

“It’s made it easier, her knowing everything.  Maze filled her in on the mortality stuff but, it turns out that it isn’t a problem anymore.”

“Oh, how’s that?”

“It seems, I was doing it to _myself_.  All of it, my wings, my Devil face; nothing to do with dear old Dad _or_ the unfortunate Sinnerman.”

“About him…”

“He’s not _dead_ , if that’s what’s bothering you.  True he’s now part of the event horizon of a black hole but, as an immortal, he gets to live and endure.  Hell would probably have been an easier option for him but he can’t die, so…”

“You felt that you should get rid of him _that_ thoroughly?”

“I punish evil and I saw his _soul_.  When he first showed up at my door with The Detective, I couldn’t see their physical appearances _at all,_ only their souls.  _His_ was the worst foulness I have ever laid eyes on - _really_ made me re-evaluate my attitude to casual sex - I couldn’t have him walking the Earth, breathing the same air as people that I _care_ about…”

“What was that about sex?”

“Well, you know _me_ , my door was always open.  He came through it early that morning, initiated a scene, with me as the submissive.  _I_ went along with it.  Turns out, _he_ thought it proved that he controlled me as a _person_ , not just in bed… I should have realized when he didn‘t offer me a safe word.  Not that I‘ve ever _needed_ one but it‘s considered polite…”

“Are you _alright_?  Was it like… an assault?”

“I suppose _some_ people would have seen it that way - anyone _else_ would have certainly needed medical attention, _after_ \- but I’m The Devil, I can’t be… raped… by a human.  I could have stopped him at _any_ time, undone the handcuffs and punched him in the face… I find myself grateful that he wore a condom, though.”  He laughed, humourlessly.  “He probably thought he could _catch_ something from me.  He refused to shake my hand when we first met, used my many sexual partners as a reason.”

“You say your door _was_ always open, past tense.”

“Yes.  I’ve come to realize that letting just _anyone_ wander in and out - taking things, _leaving_ things, _wanting_ \- was probably unwise.  Also, I’m being faithful to The Detective.”

“Monogamy, how’s that working out?”

“Well, we haven’t got beyond kissing, so far but I can’t even _contemplate_ a different sexual partner.  Not now that I’ve _seen_ her.”

“Her soul?”

“Not _that_ so much as her _feelings_.  She genuinely _loves_ me, while she was kissing me, that night, it was _pouring_ off her.  The heat of it was… my Father had nothing to do with it, I know that, now.  I‘ve _seen_.”

“A moment of clarity?  You _do_ know that people under the influence of hallucinogenic substances _often_ believe that they’ve solved the mystery of the universe?”

“ _People_ don’t have quite the same perspective, Doctor.  I was connected, for a time; saw it all, knew _everything_.  When I looked at Pierce’s soul, I knew he was Cain; I saw his mark, my _Father’s_ mark on him - a circle of pure white fire - the mark echoed on his skin but ran soul deep.  When I looked at The Detective’s soul, _she_ was untouched by Him, so her feelings are her _own_.  Yes, _He_ had Amenadiel ensure her birth but it wasn’t for _me_.”

“So why?  Do you know?”

“Not for certain, maybe because of her spawn or even her _spawn’s_ future spawn; after all, dear old Dad’s no stranger to the long game.”

“And she doesn’t make you vulnerable, any more?”

“ _She_ can still hurt me, I _enjoy_ feeling human, with her; besides, any long term relationship wouldn’t be _fair_ , otherwise.  I’m no longer vulnerable to other people when I’m around her, though.”

“So why were you, _before_?”

“ _Belief_.  It’s laughable, really, I got it into my head that I was vulnerable around her and became so.  In fact, subconsciously, I wasn’t ready for her to know the truth, so when she shot me…  Turns out, faith really is all it takes.”

“And your wings?” 

“Well, I’d just sorted Mum out, with minimum bloodshed, I’d decided to tell The Detective the truth, so I was feeling pretty good about myself.”

“But all the times you cut them off, the _suffering_ you put yourself through…”

“Yeah, bet Dad was laughing at _that_.  Still, _I_ get to laugh at Amenadiel, now; he’s fallen because he believes he _should_ and he probably doesn’t even know which of his ‘sins’ he’s paying for.  _Malcolm_ , if he‘s being honest with himself but _he_ probably thinks it‘s because of the sex.”

“Are you saying that sex _isn’t_ a sin?  So many people think that it _is_.”

“It’s only a sin if it’s with someone who doesn’t consent or is incapable of consenting - too young or too drunk, stoned or otherwise impaired - _rapists_ go to Hell.  That includes ‘celibate’ priests who think they’ve found a loophole.  There’s so many of _them_ in Hell that I thought they were _all_ like that; came as quite to shock to find out that they weren’t.”

“So the seven deadly sins…”

“Were devised by humans and were considered deadly because they are, ultimately, self destructive.  There used to be eight but depression is an _illness_ and sufferers _aren’t_ being self indulgent.”

“Yes, thankfully, we no longer tell depressed people to ‘pull themselves together’.  An extremely _unhelpful_ piece of advice.  _We_ seem to have gone off topic, though; I was _hoping_ we‘d spend more time talking about any after effects of what happened to you.  Five weeks is a long time to spend being pumped full of a cocktail of hallucinogens, even for _you_.”

“As I said, I’m good.”  There was a slight edge to his voice.

“So, no more flashbacks, no dreams?”  She didn’t miss the way he clenched his fists when she mentioned dreams.  “Particularly vivid dreams _would_ be a natural side effect.  The medical report said that you were dreaming when you were found.”

“I was, apparently, thrashing and screaming, when the medics got to me.”

“Ella told them that you were dreaming _before_ your condition changed.”

“My _condition_ changed because The Detective arrived.  Ms Lopez almost paid a high price for _that_.”

“Does she hold that against you?”

“No.  I think she’d have cheerfully endured prison if it meant finding me alive.  I can’t _begin_ to imagine how I’ve inspired such affection, even Detective Douche…”  He shook his head in disbelief.  “Cain planted evidence in Ms Lopez’s bedroom, trying to imply that she had a grudge against me.”

“Tell me about the dreams, Lucifer.”

“It’s a very good thing that he kept such meticulous records but then he’d lived so long, he couldn’t expect to _remember_   it all, not in his puny human brain…”

“Lucifer…”  There was a warning note in her voice, now.

“And do you know he’d left a surveillance device in the main living area of the penthouse, must have been the _first_ time he was there, when he stole my Hell forged blade.  After I dropped him off, I went to his house and found a memory stick with _weeks_ of footage - imagine if _that_ had fallen into the wrong hands - _and_ he still had the rock that he used to kill his brother, hidden in plain sight amongst a very large rock collection…”

“ _Lucifer!”_

“Doctor?”

“If you don’t tell me about the dreams, I can’t help you with them.”  She said gently.

“Before Ms Lopez and Detective Douche found me, I thought that _Chloe_ had rescued me.”  He said, with a sigh.  “It was a _dream_ \- I know that, now - she was holding my hand, while we waited for the ambulance and someone threw a knife.”  He said this quietly, slumping back into the couch and not meeting Linda’s eyes.  “It hit her in the back and she… I watched… her eyes… as her soul left… as she went where I can never follow.  When I woke up in the hospital, I thought that it had _actually_ happened, I even told Detective Douche that I was sorry that I didn’t manage to save her.”

“And since then?”

“Cain wanted me to kill - humans - big no-no for an angel.  He set up the phoney Sinnerman and when I failed to perform he tried brainwashing me.  He ordered me to kill Chloe…”

“Because she makes you mortal?”

“Yes.  With _her_ gone, he and I would have been two immortals together, running his empire.”

“But the brainwashing didn’t work.”

“No but I have these dreams - nightmares - where it _did_ work and I…  maybe if I stop sleeping…”

“ _Not_ the answer.  Prolonged sleep deprivation causes hallucinations and psychosis; ultimately, you’d be worse off.”

“But now that I know how _easy_ it is for me to manipulate reality, even against my will…”

“You think that you might cause Chloe harm?”

“Not _deliberately_ but I grew my wings back without wanting to and made my devil face go away…  what if, on a subconscious level..?”

“Lucifer, you allowed yourself to be killed, _twice_ , for Chloe because, on a _conscious_ level you believed that she made you vulnerable.  Your subconscious _allowed_ that, allowed you to _die_ and go back to Hell; I hardly think that any part of you would hurt her in _any_ way.”

“So you think she’ll be safe, with me?”

“I don’t believe you have it in you to harm her.”

“Well, if you’re _sure_ ,”  He said and Linda nodded her agreement.  “Then, if you’ll excuse me, Doctor, I need to see a Detective about an overdue night of passion… or maybe an entire weekend.”

 

 


End file.
